BRT Apartments (NYSE:BRT) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded BRT Apartments from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating, as indicated in a report released on Saturday.
• BRT Apartments' stock opened at $14.91 and has shown a market capitalization of approximately $282.15 million with significant insider activity, including purchases by CEO Jeffrey Gould.
• Institutional investors own about 29.07% of BRT Apartments, with notable increases in holdings from several investment firms during the last quarter.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BRT Apartments (NYSE:BRT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday.

BRT Apartments Price Performance

BRT stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $15.15. The stock had a trading volume of 28,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,112. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $15.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap of $286.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.55 and a beta of 1.04. BRT Apartments has a 52-week low of $14.17 and a 52-week high of $20.22.

BRT Apartments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 25th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 25th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. BRT Apartments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -208.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Gould acquired 3,026 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.93 per share, for a total transaction of $48,204.18. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 3,973,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $63,298,970.10. This trade represents a 0.08% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Investors L. P. Gould purchased 7,500 shares of BRT Apartments stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.45 per share, for a total transaction of $115,875.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 3,951,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,045,792.80. This trade represents a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 29,828 shares of company stock worth $467,684 in the last 90 days. 40.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BRT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BRT Apartments by 62.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,113,057 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,068,000 after acquiring an additional 429,046 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of BRT Apartments by 76.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 38,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 16,466 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of BRT Apartments during the 4th quarter worth $77,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of BRT Apartments by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in BRT Apartments in the 4th quarter valued at about $795,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 29.07% of the company's stock.

About BRT Apartments

BRT Apartments Corp. is a real estate investment trust. It engages in the ownership, operation, and holding interests in joint ventures that own and operate multi-family properties. The company was founded in June 1972 and is headquartered in Great Neck, NY.